More than 500,000 Hajj pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia’s Medina

A total of 550,580 Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Medina, a city in the western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

On Friday, the pilgrims of different nationalities arrived in the holy city of Medina after performing Hajj. Reportedly, around 28,113 Hajj pilgrims departed for their countries through Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, a regional airport in Medina, on Friday. 

Reportedly, more than 1.8 million Muslim worshippers performed the Hajj in the holy city of Mecca. Last month, they made it to Mount Arafat in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to mark the most important day of the Hajj.

Hajj starts on the eighth day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul Hijjah, which this year corresponded to 26 June in the Gregorian calendar. It usually lasts five to six days. It starts with the tawaf, the circling of the Kaaba. They make their way to Mina, about 8 km from Mecca’s al-Masjid al-Haram, before they gather at Mount Arafat, a granodiorite hill about 20 km southeast of Mecca.

This year, Hajj took place in the nearly 45-degree-Celsius heat. Many people died due to heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion. Hajj was held between June 26 and July 1. The celebration of Eid al-Adha took place on June 28. 

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According to SPA, nearly 161,750 pilgrims of different nationalities are still in the holy city of Medina, with hotel occupancy reaching 54 per cent.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia started issuing electronic visas (e-visas) for Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that tourist visa holders from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of Arab states and the holders of Schengen visas can schedule their Umrah through the Nusk application.